


But Not Enough For Me

by Imogen_LeFay



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-25
Updated: 2011-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 05:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1103213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imogen_LeFay/pseuds/Imogen_LeFay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There were three facts that Kurt knew about Blaine Anderson. He was gorgeous, he sang like a dream, and he was very much in love with one Rachel Berry. AU season 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	But Not Enough For Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU from including 2x06, it’s playing a bit with which parts of canon I use or don’t. Inspiration and possibly title will become clear.

Kurt wasn’t sure when it had happened, but at some point this year things had changed fundamentally between him and Rachel. Whereas he started the year basically hating her – and god, were there a lot of reasons, starting with her hogging the spotlight and ending with that abomination she called her wardrobe – at some point over duets, sleepovers and one disastrous but extremely remarkable shopping trip Rachel Berry had somehow become his friend, maybe even his best friend, although that admission was almost physically painful. It was probably inevitable, seeing how much they had in common – another thought that was freaking him out a little – and if he was honest it wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe exactly what he’d been missing for most of his school career to date, a best friend who just got him because they were mostly wired the same, and as much as he loved Mercedes, she had just never understood him the way Rachel did.

Anyway, the point was, though she still sometimes irritated him to the core, he didn’t hate Rachel anymore. He hadn’t hated her in months. Or rather he hadn’t hated her – until tonight.

Mercedes‘ laughter beside him shook Kurt from his thoughts. Opposite her, Sam apparently had just finished his impression of whatever actor he was on now – Kurt had tuned him out after an especially weird one of Neil Patrick Harris – and beamed at the approval Mercedes was happily giving. Kurt could just refrain from rolling his eyes. So Mercedes had actually found a date for prom while he hadn’t. He should be happy for her. It’s not like they forced him to sit with them. He had so many other choices. Like sitting with Finn and Quinn being silent at each other. Or watching Mike and Tina make out. Great choices, really…

It had all started to go wrong when Mercedes had told him that Sam had asked her to prom. Before, the plan had been for him to go as a group with his girls. But then Mercedes of course had to get a date. Not that he wasn’t happy for her. And he certainly, absolutely wasn’t jealous one little bit, and he definitely wasn’t wondering where on earth _that_ had come from, seeing how he couldn’t really remember Sam and Mercedes even talking a lot before, but fine. Mercedes had a date and was happy. It was her right, and she deserved it. The reason tonight had taken a wrong turn wasn’t really her.

It was, of course, Rachel freaking Berry.

Rachel, who like him had no date and had agreed to go with him, only to panic at the last second and got herself a date from god knows where. And self-centered as she was, it hadn’t even occurred to her to tell him until one hour before prom. Sure, she had apologized profusely, but had been absolutely adamant that she could not come to prom without a date, not when Finn took Quinn, and wouldn’t they look amazing, and she couldn’t possibly stand that humiliation. So she had decided, as she’d explained on the phone, to forget her pride and bring the most embarrassing prom date possible, and hopefully Finn would see what he was missing out on.

Kurt wasn’t sure what exactly Rachel thought of as „the most embarrassing prom date possible“ – he had seen Jacob ben Israel on his own and he couldn’t exactly think of a worse choice – or how she expected to make Finn jealous if her date was an embarrassment, but then again, he hadn’t understood how making out with Puck could possibly be a justified response to Finn sleeping with Santana at a time when Rachel was dating someone else, no matter how hurt she was.

With a sigh, Kurt looked at the clock again. If New Directions hadn’t been performing at prom, he honestly would have considered not showing up, ticket be damned. But no, he had to agree to a duet with Finn who for some reason had insisted on “brotherly bonding”, and while that had gone better than he had expected, it meant that he now had to sit around at prom, surrounded by couples. He took a sip of his drink and glared at the entrance – right the moment when Rachel Berry appeared with what she apparently considered the worst prom date possible.

The drink flew right out of his mouth and he started coughing. He was hardly aware of Mercedes hitting his back and asking if he was okay. He stared at the door again, hoping for a second that his eyes had played a trick on him.

But no. There, beside Rachel, dressed in a black suit and wearing a bow tie, was Blaine Anderson.

* * *

 

The first time Kurt became aware of Blaine’s existence was shortly before Sectionals this year. It was a stressful time, the bullying reaching a new height before then principal Sue made her deal with him that she’d stop the harassment if he put on the Cheerios’ uniform again. Even glee club was stressful with Rachel being jealous of Santana, fighting about the distribution of solos at sectionals… in an especially heated argument in which Rachel insulted “Barbie and Ken”, Quinn had enough.

“If you are so worried about our chances at competition, then maybe you should stop getting involved with rival show choir leads.”

Rachel sputtered, clearly caught unaware, but apparently guilty.

“Sam and I saw you at the mall yesterday with one of the warblers and you seemed pretty cozy.” Quinn added. “Their lead singer, actually, according to their performances that we found on youtube. What, one Jesse St. James isn’t enough for you?”

“That was completely different. There is nothing going on between me and Blaine!” Rachel protested. “While he actually tried to snoop, I am not telling him anything! Not that I had anything to tell, seeing how I’m not even going to have a solo, but I’d never compromise our set list or our chances at Sectionals!”

“Wait, how do you even know him?” Tina asked.

Again, Rachel had sputtered, before finally managing to say something about them knowing each other for a long time. Also, apparently this guy was annoying, way too sure of himself and didn’t show nearly enough dedication for show choir.

Kurt hadn’t thought any of that was important at the time. Even when they were at Sectionals, he didn’t waste a thought on the Warblers’ lead singer. What should he care about a second Jesse St. James, as long as Rachel didn’t stupidly get her heart broken again? He was more concerned with his first competition solo.

Technically, he was terrified of his first competition solo. He couldn’t sit still, especially not with everyone around him glaring at each other, so he used the first excuse he could to get out of there. Instead, he started pacing back and forth on the corridor, trying to calm his nerves. This was just what he had wanted, so why on earth would he go crazy now? He was so immersed in his panic that he didn’t hear the second pair of footsteps, or another person entering the corridor, until he ran straight into him. He nearly lost balance but a hand on his elbow stabilized him.

“Are you okay?”

For a second Kurt stared at the boy in front of him. He was slightly shorter than Kurt, wearing a navy blazer with the red crest of Dalton Academy, his dark hair held back by what Kurt judged to be way too much gel. All of that registered in Kurt’s head, but what he really couldn’t help but stare at where the boy’s hazel eyes and wide, genuine smile. He was gorgeous.

The boy looked at him with a slightly bemused expression and it took Kurt a moment to realize that he had asked a question.

“Right… yeah, fine, thanks…” he stammered. _Smooth, Hummel, really smooth…_ he thought.

“Nervous about your performance?” the boy asked. “Sorry, you’re in New Directions, right?”

Kurt nodded. “How did you guess?”

The boy laughed. “Well, you are pacing around in front of their green room…”

“You seem to know a lot about the green rooms, Mr. Warbler.” Kurt shot back. but the boy kept smiling.

“The uniform, I guess?”

“They’re not exactly inconspicuous.” Kurt said.

“Right. I just came by to check in on Rachel. I’m Blaine, by the way.” The boy held out his hand and he shook it, masking his surprise. _That_ was Jesse 2.0? Somehow he had expected someone more pompous, self-centered, and for that matter curlier – though with the amount of gel on Blaine’s head it was actually hard to tell, and maybe this one just was better at making first impressions than Jesse the Original.

“I’m Kurt,” he introduced himself. “But honestly, you have to be suicidal if you really think Rachel would talk to a rival choir member right before competition.”

Blaine chuckled. “Yeah, she can be a piece of work… I don’t want to imagine how things must be for you guys, having her as your team captain…”

Of course Rachel would stress that part…

“So,” Blaine continued, “is this your first competition, Kurt? Because you seem so nervous.” he quickly added when he noticed Kurt raising one eyebrow.

“My first solo.” Kurt replied before he realized who he was talking to. Rachel would probably have his head for this alone. Then again, what would it change? It wasn’t as if there was a lot of time to change any set lists, nor would anyone be crazy enough to do that just because they knew one singer – not even Rachel.

“I’m sure you’ll blow it away.” Blaine said, his smile encouraging.

“Are you nervous?” Kurt asked without thinking.

Blaine shrugged. “Not so much anymore. I guess I just love performing too much. I’m kind of like Rachel, except I’m not as addicted to the spotlight as she is. …well, I _hope_ I’m not.”

Kurt looked at him in disbelief. The mere fact of comparing oneself to Rachel and being okay with it was still a scary thought in his eyes, though he just had realized that they had more in common than he thought – but the idea of this boy seeing himself similar to Rachel in any way? This boy who was gorgeous and happy and tried to cheer up a member of a rival show choir right before competition?

“What’s so funny?” Blaine asked.

“Nothing.” Kurt said, stifling his laughter. “But thank you.”

“What for?”

Before Kurt had to answer, an Asian boy in Dalton uniform entered the corridor. “Where have you been, Blaine? We need to get on stage in ten minutes!”

Blaine sighed theatrically, then turned back to Kurt, smiling. “Well, good luck out there – you’re going to need it. Tell Rachel I said hi.” Then he actually winked at Kurt, before turning to follow the other warbler.

“Good luck to you too.” Kurt called after them.

That had gone more… pleasant than he had expected. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to return to his team, his nerves already calmer. But the moment he turned towards the door, Rachel stormed out. She didn’t come far until she saw him. He expected her to shout at him for not being inside, but instead she looked at him out of watery eyes, gave him a quick hug and ran off. Confused, Kurt looked inside the room. Finn looked terribly guilty, Santana was smirking like a cat that just ate a bird. He didn’t need anything else to realize what Rachel had just found out. With a sigh he turned around to go after her.

She had gone into the main hall, standing at the back and staring at the stage where the warblers were just taking position.

“Look-“ Kurt started when he reached her, but she shook her head.

“Rachel, you-“

“Quiet. We have to assess our competition.” Rachel shushed him, but he could nearly hear the suppressed tears in her voice.

He wasn’t sure what to do – this friendship like thing with Rachel was still too new – so he just stood beside her.

“They’re doing it right, you know?” Rachel asked with a shaking voice. “Focusing on their best performer...”

And wasn’t that a remark that – coming from Rachel of all people – made him think of at least a dozen insults. But somehow he couldn’t utter one of them, not when she was so distressed. He suppressed a sigh. This friendship thing would be hard…

Instead he kept silent as they watched their competition.

Watching them perform, Kurt had to admit that there actually were similarities between Blaine Anderson and Rachel Berry. Apparently the spotlight lived for him, his show face was the same beaming smile that Rachel had while performing and talent-wise… Yes, Kurt could see how they might be in trouble this time. It wasn’t only Blaine, though. The whole group seemed to enjoy themselves and work as a team. For a second Kurt thought of New Directions and how drama always seemed to boil over right before competitions.

“At least our dancing is better.” he muttered to Rachel, but she didn’t react.

Their last number started and it took Kurt only seconds to recognize the melody as a Katy Perry. The moment Blaine started to sing, their eyes met. Kurt felt something in his chest start to flutter. This was happening. This boy was gorgeous. He sang like a dream. And right now, he sang directly at Kurt in front of the whole Sectionals audience.

Forget the fact that they’d talked once, that he hardly knew anything about him or that this was probably either a way of focusing or just in Kurt’s head anyway. Right now he knew these three facts about Blaine Anderson, and it was enough.

“We should get back.” Kurt muttered to Rachel as the warblers took their applause. “We’re on after the break and they’ll worry where we are.”

“No, they won’t.” Rachel replied. “You can go.”

“Don’t do this.” Kurt said. “Look, Rachel, that was last year. Do you really want to risk Sectionals because of that?”

“I’m _not_ risking Sectionals!” Rachel yelled at him. “I don’t even have the chance to ruin anything! It’s not like I’m doing anything except singing in the background while _Santana_ sings the main solo that should have been mine!”

“Look, how are we supposed to win anything as a team if we keep tearing each other down?” Kurt asked with exasperation. “Look at them, do you see them complaining about not getting a solo?”

“That’s because they just trust their best performer, unlike Mr. Shue!” Rachel replied. “But no, we have to risk our chances at Sectionals and for that matter our entire club again and _again,_ just because Mr. Shue has problems with his personal life! If only he could see that the best thing would be to do the same and trust me to know what I’m doing-“

“Oh, are we back on you being the center of the universe again?”

Kurt didn’t need to look at him to recognize Blaine’s voice – which was a good thing, because by the time he had turned to him, Rachel had thrown her arms around Blaine who could only helplessly pat her back while he tried to keep his balance.

“Rach? You okay?”

“Of course I’m not okay, how can you ask that?” Rachel yelled into his ear. To his credit, Blaine didn’t even flinch but just patted her back.

“It’ll be okay, Rach.” he muttered. He did shoot a questioning look to Kurt, who didn’t exactly know how to explain what was wrong.

“It’s Finn and Santana.” Rachel sobbed. “They… he said he didn’t, but they did and it’s Santana, and…”

She stopped talking and buried her face against Blaine’s shoulder. He looked slightly uncomfortable, but not surprised.

“Come on, Rach, it’ll be alright.” he said softly into her hair. “Just concentrate on the performance for now. You know you’ll feel better. You always do.”

“I told you, I’m not _doing_ anything.” Rachel said.

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Like you don’t always pull focus. Now get up there and make me proud.”

Rachel actually laughed at that. “You mean kick your ass.”

“In your dreams. And we’ll talk later about this, okay?”

Rachel nodded and finally let the poor boy breathe again. “Will do.” She collected herself for a moment and the beaming show face was back on. “Oh my god, Kurt, what are we doing here? We have to get back and ready!” She took his hand and started to pull him away.

“You’re welcome.” Blaine called after her. “Love you too!”

Rachel didn’t even wave back but Kurt caught the look of exasperated fondness on Blaine’s face.

He wore the same look after the jury announced their tie and Rachel actually stuck out her tongue at him. He just shook her hand before pulling her into a hug.

Kurt felt stupid again. Had he actually thought Blaine had sung to him earlier? It was obvious now that the song had been for Rachel beside him. While the tie was actually a good thing – at least better than a defeat – he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

There were three facts that Kurt knew about Blaine Anderson. He was gorgeous, he sang like a dream, and he was very much in love with one Rachel Berry.

* * *

 

Kurt couldn’t stop glaring at Rachel while she and Blaine made their way to their table. Of course Rachel had to make a stop at the table where Finn and Quinn sat, broadly smiling while obviously parading around her oh so horrible date. He couldn’t believe she’d do that. They hadn’t exactly talked about it, but surely she must have noticed at some point that Kurt had feelings for him. Or – considering the enormous self-centeredness Rachel usually showed – at least she had to have noticed that Blaine was in love with her. And to string him along like that, just so she could possibly make Finn jealous while she considered him the most embarrassing date possible… It was disgusting.

“Hey, Kurt!”

And there they were, right in front of him with matching broad smiles on their faces. They did look nice, Blaine all in black, Rachel in light pink, both looking so happy, if in Rachel’s case slightly smug… such a pretty couple, he thought, like freaking clones.

“Are you okay?” Blaine asked with a raised eyebrow. “You look… unhappy.”

“Oh, no, fine, everything’s great.” Kurt replied trying to morph his expression of disgust into one of enjoyment. He didn’t even need to see Blaine’s eyebrow rising even higher to know that he was hardly successful.

“So what are you doing here?” Kurt asked quickly to distract Blaine. “Rachel didn’t mention you coming.”

Rachel laughed nervously. “Oh, well, it’s been kind of last minute, and Blaine was kind enough to accompany me…”

“Because I obviously had a choice…” Blaine muttered while pulling out a chair for Rachel before sitting down next to Kurt.

“I can’t imagine what kind of dirt she must have on you.” Kurt said snappishly.

Blaine chuckled. “Trust me, you’re not going to find out.”

“We’ll see about that.” Rachel replied with a grin so broad it nearly split her face. “And it’s not like it’s such a great sacrifice for you.”

“That’s what you think.” Blaine muttered.

“It’s not like you even have a prom at Dalton.” Rachel said. “Really, this is your only opportunity and you should be thankful that I let you come.”

Blaine just rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Rach.”

“You’re not a fan of proms then?” Sam asked.

Blaine shrugged, but Kurt noticed him stiffing. “Well, dances in general. But Rachel insisted on me taking her, so…”

“So you obviously couldn’t decline.” Kurt finished and glared at Rachel again.

Again, Blaine chuckled. “You know how she is.”

“And how you are when it comes to her.” Kurt muttered, refusing to meet Blaine’s eye and instead focusing on his drink. He saw Blaine frowning out of the corner of his eyes, but before he could say anything, Rachel jumped to her feet, pulling everyone’s focus.

“I love that song, come dance with me!”

Blaine stared at her. “You want me to slow dance with you?”

_And fulfill your greatest dream…_ Kurt thought but bit his tongue to keep quiet. He glared even more at Rachel. Was it really necessary to lead Blaine on like that? But when he turned to look at her, he could see Finn and Quinn together on the dance floor. Right.

Rachel didn’t even acknowledge his glare but pulled Blaine to his feet.

“Rach, I don’t know…” he started.

“Leave the toys in the drawer,” Rachel chirped, drawing out the last word.

Blaine instantly blushed. “Fine, I’m coming. Just… shut _up_ , Rachel!” He threw an apologetic look to Kurt before he allowed Rachel to pull him to the dance floor.

“Have fun…” Kurt muttered darkly as he watched them. God, this was the _worst_ prom ever.

* * *

 

In itself, Sectionals wasn’t anything special – just a little reminder that the moment Kurt even thought about wanting something, Rachel would be there to get it. At least it wasn’t anything more serious, like it had been back then with Finn – or even Defying Gravity. Just a cute guy he had talked to once, and Rachel apparently didn’t even want him. Kurt was ready to just put it behind him and forget that Blaine Anderson even existed.

Unfortunately, Blaine had different plans.

The first time he saw Blaine again was the week after Sectionals at the Lima Bean. It had been a busy week. While the drama within glee club had thankfully subsided, Finn and Rachel had broken up and Kurt had to listen to his new step-brother as well as his new best friend crying about it to him. While a part of him wanted to tell both of them to just shut up and get back together if they were suffering so much, he knew this wasn’t an option for Finn. So he decided to be a supportive brother and friend respectively and be there for them, while ignoring the still increasing bullying at school as much as he could. Just sometimes he needed to get away from it all, which was the reason he went to the Lima Bean this Friday. It was a busy day and he was lucky enough to get one of the last free tables. Gratefully, he sat down and just enjoyed his mocha while going through the sheet music for this week’s glee assignment.

He really should have known better than to expect an undisturbed afternoon.

“Hey. Kurt, right?”

At the sound of Blaine’s voice he looked up. “Hey.” he said a little too quickly. “What are you doing here?”

Blaine looked from him to the cup of coffee in his hand and back at Kurt.

“Right. Coffee.” Kurt muttered.

“That seat taken?” Blaine asked.

Kurt shook his head. “No, it’s… it’s free. Have a seat.”

Smiling, Blaine sat down. “So, done with glee for today?”

Kurt nodded. “Done with the week, finally. Not that I can tell you anything about glee…”

“…because Rachel would skin you alive, yeah, I understand. She’s radical like that.” Blaine said.

“So, really, what are you doing here? Isn’t this a bit far from Dalton?” Kurt asked.

Blaine shrugged. “I’m on my way home, actually. I’m just boarding during the week, I usually come home over the weekend.” he explained.

“You live in Lima?”

Blaine laughed. “Well, yeah, obviously.”

“Right.” Kurt muttered. “Obviously.”

“So, those are for glee club?” Blaine asked, pointing to his sheet music. “Not that I’m trying to snoop or anything.”

“Of course not. But yeah, it’s glee club. Just not for Regionals. It’s just an assignment.” Kurt explained.

“We never get assignments. Well, the council sometimes schedules extra rehearsals for the weekend, but not weekly assignments like you guys get.”

“Council?”

As it turned out, it was easy talking to Blaine. Ridiculously easy, even. He asked the right questions, said the right things, and apart from his favoritism towards current pop music instead of classic show tunes, he seemed to have a pretty good taste. It was easy, it was fun, and kind of exactly what he had needed as a break from playing Oprah for Rachel and Finn.

It was also regrettably cut short when Blaine’s phone rang. After a short conversation that for Kurt consisted of Blaine saying “yes… right… no, I… yes. Yeah. Right. Yes. _Fine_. See you then.”, Blaine told him he had to go pick up Rachel.

“Boyfriend trouble.” he said apologetically. “Well, ex-boyfriend trouble. I guess you already know everything about that?”

Kurt sighed. “From both sides. It’s not helping.”

“I figured. Well, she’s done bemoaning her fate in the auditorium, so she wants to be taken home… so she can bemoan her fate in the basement, so all neighbors can have a reason to hate her again… She really is a piece of work. I sometimes really don’t know why I’m doing anything for her…”

“Because you love her.” Kurt said, trying to sound unbothered.

Blaine laughed. “Right, that. It’s just… hard sometimes.”

And didn’t Kurt know everything about that, considering that disaster his crush on Finn had been. “I know what you mean.” he said. “Does it help if I tell you it gets better?”

Blaine laughed. “I’ll keep it in mind. So… I guess I’ll see you around?” He even sounded a bit hopeful, and Kurt could already see how this would go. He was so close to picking up another customer for his budding counseling sessions. Wouldn’t that be a group? Finn whining about Rachel cheating on him, Rachel whining about Finn breaking up with her and Blaine whining about Rachel whining about Finn. It was a horrible idea.

“Sure, I’d like that.” Kurt said.

It was nearly worth it when Blaine beamed at him. It was very similar to the smile he had worn on stage and Kurt started to think that show face might actually be genuine. “Cool, I can give you my number?”

Great, the first time a cute guy gave him his number… and it was probably to whine about Rachel. Because, obviously, there were no completely nice things.

Or maybe the universe was just trying to rub in that yes, nice things existed, but he couldn’t have them. Because Blaine Anderson turned out to be a very nice thing. That day started a tradition of them meeting for coffee whenever Blaine came home for the weekend. It also started a whole flood of texts, phone calls, skype sessions and on several occasions ridiculously serious conversations. It was easier to talk to someone who didn’t go to McKinley, someone who wasn’t involved with all the madness going around in glee club. It also helped that Blaine seemed so genuinely interested in whatever Kurt told him.

Except there were of course also a lot of problems, the worst being that Blaine had to be the biggest flirt Kurt had ever met. Maybe a year ago it would have been such a relief to meet a straight guy who acted completely normal around him and who wasn’t too freaked out to throw in little flirty remarks. But Blaine was way too comfortable with that. If Kurt didn’t see the fond smile Blaine always wore when he was around Rachel, he really wouldn’t be able to take Blaine seriously as a straight guy.

He knew Kurt’s coffee order, he kept paying when they were at the Lima Bean or Breadstix, he always held open doors for Kurt and he never went one of their not-dates without complimenting him on something, be it something about his outfit or the way his hair looked today. It was completely frustrating, especially since about half of their not-dates were cut short by Rachel calling and demanding something from Blaine, who – to his credit – only complied about half the time.

Another problem was that Blaine just understood. He, too, had been bullied, to the point where he had left his old school and transferred to Dalton for its zero tolerance policy on harassment. Kurt couldn’t think of a reason why someone like Blaine would have been bullied and he had never dared to ask, he only knew that it must have been bad. So Blaine understood being bullied, and all the frustration that came with it. He listened, and he encouraged Kurt, and when Coach Sylvester finally made her deal, effectively keeping the bullies off his back, Blaine was the first person he called.

It was great to have a person like that. The problem was, it just made it too easy to fall for Blaine, and Kurt really, really didn’t need any more reasons.

Or maybe he never really had a chance anyway.

* * *

 

“I can’t believe her!”

Kurt looked up in surprise when Blaine sat down beside him. By now, Sam and Mercedes had also gone to the dance floor and Kurt had stayed at the table.

“Where’s your date?” Kurt asked. It was unexpected that Rachel wasn’t with Blaine, but he was more surprised at the tone of his voice. Blaine sounded pissed off. The last time Kurt had heard him like that was months ago when they had talked about their respective bullies.

“My _date_ is on the dance floor.” Blaine said, glaring at the dancing couples. “With Jesse St. James.”

“What?”

“I know.” Blaine shook his head in disgust. “I didn’t expect him to be here, either. Rachel on the other hand was pretty happy about it.”

“She’s not going for him again, is he?” Kurt asked.

“I really don’t know, but come one! Jesse, again? He egged her!”

“I know, I remember.” Kurt said. “I’m really sorry…”

“What is she even thinking? He’s going to break her heart again and she just lets him in. Does she want to get hurt? Isn’t she upset enough about Finn? Does she really need Jesse St. James on top of all that?”

Kurt had never seen Blaine this upset. As much as he hated the other boy’s feelings for Rachel, he felt bad.

“I’m sorry.” he said quietly. “I know this isn’t easy for you…”

Blaine laughed. “It’s not about me, Kurt.” His expression softened. “I just don’t want her to get hurt again, you know? Finn going out with Quinn again after what she did, whereas he can’t forgive Rachel… that was pretty hard on her. I don’t know what Jesse wants, but I don’t think she could take it if he was just playing with her.”

This was another thing that was so hard about Blaine. He was so honest, so genuine. Kurt understood the concept of being happy for the one you love, even if you’re not the one making them happy, though he always had trouble applying it to himself. But seeing Blaine worry so much about Rachel, even while she didn’t even consider his feelings… It was painful. He could never find that strength. Try as he might, he couldn’t wish for Blaine and Rachel to end up together and happy. Not when he could see her ignore Blaine’s feelings like that, or the way she led him on. He never wanted to see Blaine hurt.

“You really love her, don’t you?” Kurt asked. He had said similar things before, but it had always come out sounding like a joke.

“I do.” Blaine admitted. It was a simple statement, and so truthful it ached.

Kurt smiled weakly. “You’re amazing, Blaine. One day she’ll see that.”

“Thanks.” Blaine said, returning the smile. “That means a lot, you saying that.”

Kurt felt himself blush. “I mean it.” he said, quickly looking away. God, could he be more obvious?

Blaine took his hand and squeezed it shortly. “Thank you.” he said again.

“You’re welcome.” Kurt replied, trying to sound lighter than he felt. “So, since your date’s occupied, how about we discuss that abomination people at this school call interior design?”

“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad.” Blaine said, easily accepting the change of subject.

They kept to light topics, like decoration, some of the dresses – and seriously, for a straight guy Blaine was _way_ too interested and informed about fashion – until Jar of Hearts started playing.

“Rachel’s song.” Blaine noticed with a look to the stage.

“We picked it together.” Kurt said. “It’s a personal favorite.” And then it was out, before he could stop himself. “I wish I could dance to that.”

For a second, Blaine seemed to freeze. “You… you want to dance?” he asked, clearly uncomfortable.

Kurt felt himself blush, and at the same time he got angry. Why was it such a big deal if he wanted to dance with someone at prom? Why couldn’t anyone understand? First his dad, now Blaine… “It’s prom, Blaine. People come here to dance, it’s the point!” he said, his tone colder than anything he usually used around Blaine. “And yes, it would be nice to be a normal teenager for once and be able to dance at my own prom! But I guess prom’s just for straight people. Fine, whatever. And it’s not even like I was asking you!”

“I didn’t mean-“ Blaine started.

“I’m getting a drink.” Kurt huffed and stood up to storm off, but Blaine captured his wrist.

“Kurt, _wait_!” he said.

“What, Blaine?”

For a moment he was sure, Blaine would just let go of his wrist and let him leave. He looked actually scared, and that was something Kurt had never seen on him. But then Blaine nodded to himself as if he was gathering his courage and looked straight into Kurt’s eyes.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked quietly.

Kurt stared at him. “What?”

Blaine visibly took a deep breath, before focusing on Kurt’s eyes again. “May I have this dance?”

This was not happening. This kind of thing did not happen. Not to Kurt. The straight boy he was in love with, the boy who loved his best friend, the boy whose lips he kept dreaming about, did not out of the blue ask him to dance on his prom. He was dreaming, or making things up…

But Blaine started to look nervous, uncertain, and so different from his usual confident demeanor…

“Yes,” Kurt breathed without even thinking, “yes, you may.”

* * *

 

Maybe it could have gone on like that forever – Kurt pining for Blaine pining for Rachel pining for Finn – but of course it had to escalate at some point, in this case that horrible disaster of a party Rachel organized. Well, technically it had been Puck’s fault, after all the alcohol had been his idea. And maybe things had been better on Kurt if he hadn’t tried to stay as sober as possible. But then again, could he be blamed for being slightly surprised to see Blaine of all people at a New Directions party?

At that point, Kurt was positive that he had fallen in love pretty bad, and actually the idea of just having a party and drinking until he didn’t remember stupid, gorgeous, Rachel-loving Blaine sounded really good. Too bad that by the time Kurt arrived with Mercedes, Blaine was already sitting on one of the couches, a wine cooler in his hand and chatting with Rachel.

“What is he doing here?” Kurt blurted out before he could think about it.

Both Rachel and Blaine looked up – and seriously, how on earth could Blaine ever think of them being a couple if they looked like freaking twins half the time? – and for a second Kurt thought he’d seen a flash of hurt on Blaine’s face, but if it had been there it disappeared within seconds.

“It was an accident, he found out about the party and blackmailed me into letting him come.” Rachel explained. “But you can just ignore him, maybe that will make him leave?”

“No, it won’t.” Blaine said quickly.

“I wasn’t planning on ignoring him.” Kurt said. He nearly cursed himself for being so obvious again, but Blaine shot him a quick smile and suddenly it seemed like a pretty good idea.

“You blackmailed her into letting you come? Damn, I think I underestimated you, warbler boy.” Mercedes said laughing. “Are you gonna share whatever you have on her?”

“Sorry,” Blaine said grinning, “but I might need it again. Besides, I was here anyway. I really don’t see what the big deal is if I’m at her party. I’m not here as a warbler. I’m not even wearing the uniform.”

Which, as Kurt had to admit, was quite a big deal since he’d never seen Blaine out of uniform before. And he certainly wasn’t complaining.

Of course, this changed his plans for the party to “definitely not getting drunk in front of Blaine – unless you see him make out with Rachel, in that case drown your brain in vodka”. Blaine on the other hand apparently had the plan “drink yourself insane and try to bond with New Directions”. Only two hours later, Blaine was nearly hanging off Kurt’s shoulder babbling something about this being the best party ever and how boring the parties at Dalton were in comparison.

“Your eyes are really pretty like that…” Blaine muttered after Kurt had to catch him to stop him from falling over. “And your hair looks like so great in that light.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re mixing up words.” Kurt said. “…and people for that matter.”

“Don’t you have fun?” Blaine asked.

“It’s nice, I guess…”Kurt admitted.

“Yeah, _so_ nice. I absolutely love it.”

“Glad you do.” Kurt said, catching Blaine again when he stumbled. “How much did you drink again?”

“Don’t know!” Blaine replied. “What’s Rachel doing?”

Kurt sighed. Of course, freaking Rachel. He looked around. Oh, great. She was talking to Finn. Actually, she was hanging on Finn, not unlike the way Blaine was hanging on Kurt himself. Finn seemed quite uncomfortable, but after he said something, Rachel suddenly stormed into the middle of the room, screaming “Spin the bottle!”

Before Kurt could protest, cheers came from several points in the room, including directly beside his ear.

“I love that game!” Blaine nearly yelled in his ear.

“Anything you don’t love at the moment?” Kurt asked.

Blaine laughed and the sound sent shivers down Kurt’s back. “Can’t think of anything, no.” he said lowly. His breath tickled the skin of Kurt’s ear.

“Yeah… let’s… let’s play, then.” Kurt muttered.

A part of his brain knew this could never end well. Considering his luck, Blaine would kiss Rachel, she would realize her undying love for him and they’d elope, leaving Kurt behind in the dust.

Actually, it was Santana who got Blaine, but he pulled away after a quick peck leaving Santana pouting and complaining.

“Sorry,” Blaine said chuckling and whirled the bottle. Kurt held his breath, and he was definitely not praying. It wasn’t even as if he wanted Blaine to kiss him in a stupid game. Not nice, straight, friendly Blaine who probably wouldn’t even care… or do it, for that matter.

“God, it’s a freaking hobbit convention,” Santana snorted.

Kurt stared at the bottle. So close. Of course the bottle pointed to Rachel, she was sitting right beside him, just a little further… And now they’d make out and elope and live happily ever after and…

And then Rachel was standing and stumbling backwards, yelling “Ewwww! Gross! No way!”

Blaine laughed. “You’re acting like you’re seven, Rach.”

“I’m _so_ not making out with you!” Rachel insisted. “This game is stupid and I’m not playing anymore.”

“Yeah, sorry… you’re acting like you’re five!” Blaine laughed. “Who am I supposed to make out with now?”

“Not me, god, you’re so gross!” Rachel yelled.

Blaine shuddered. “Right… so, who then?” He looked at the place where Rachel had sat, then his eyes drifted to the side, meeting Kurt’s. His smile broadened and nearly looked predatory. “I’ve got an idea…” he said lowly.

And then, Blaine’s lips were on his.

Kurt gasped in surprise, and within the blink of an eye he could feel Blaine’s tongue in his mouth. This wasn’t happening. He was absolutely not being kissed by the guy he was crazy for. But then there was a hand on his cheek, and Blaine _whimpered_ and oh my god this was real this was actually happening Blaine was _kissing_ him!

The realization had just hit him when Blaine was pulled away from him.

“Gross! I didn’t have to see that!” Rachel yelled at Blaine.

“You suck, Rach.” Blaine replied glaring at her. Kurt gasped again. This was the first time he had hear Blaine being anything less than a perfect gentleman around Rachel. But now he didn’t even acknowledge her continued protest, just stood up, took Kurt’s hand and pulled him towards the stage.

“Come on, let’s do a duet.”

“He’s my duet partner!” Rachel whined.

“Not anymore, he’s not.” Blaine replied. “Come on, Kurt, we’re singing!”

The rest of the evening was a blur. Blaine and Rachel seemed to fight each other for the right to sing with him to the point where Puck actually thrashed the karaoke machine. At some point most people were either passed out or already brought home by Finn, Rachel was singing into the broken microphone herself and Blaine was leaning against Kurt’s shoulder in a corner.

“Hey…” he muttered. “Kurt?”

“Hm?”

“You had fun?” Blaine asked, his voice low and half asleep.

“I think so…” Kurt said. “You?”

“Loved it.” Blaine said. “You’re awesome, you know?”

_And that might actually be nice if you could remember this tomorrow. Or were on my team at least…_

“I think Rachel wasn’t having that much fun.” Kurt said.

“Hm… too bad for her.” Blaine said.

“You guys ready to go?” Finn asked.

“Go where?” Blaine replied.

“Home? Finn can drive you.” Kurt said.

For some reason Blaine started laughing and Kurt had to hold him up to stop him from falling to the ground. “Nah, I think I’ll pass. I’ll stay here.”

“Riiight… have fun with that.” Finn said. “Kurt, you coming?”

He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should leave Blaine. But he was tired, and exhausted, and Blaine just started to make himself comfortable on one of the couches.

“I guess I’ll see you next week?” he asked.

“Hm… I’ll call you…” Blaine muttered.

Kurt was silent for the whole ride home. Maybe he should be happy, but he felt empty. Blaine had kissed him… and it hadn’t meant anything. Finn looked at him as if he wanted to say something, but Kurt turned away. What could there be said? He had done it again – fallen in love with a straight guy. He’d probably never learn.

It got worse when Blaine actually did call him the next day, asking if they could meet for coffee. They were just sitting opposite each other, both of their cups untouched while Blaine gathered the courage to talk to him and Kurt just sat there waiting for what was bound to come – Blaine telling him that he was so sorry, but he was drunk and had never meant to kiss him in the first place and – if he was lucky – could they still be friends, or – if he was unlucky – that they should probably stop seeing each other.

“Look, Kurt, I’m really sorry about Friday,” Blaine finally said, “I was drunk, and I shouldn’t have been so out of control. I’m really sorry for the way I acted. But I…” He paused, still unable to meet Kurt’s eyes, and suddenly Kurt couldn’t take it anymore.

“It’s fine, Blaine.” he said. “It was just a drunken kiss. It didn’t mean anything. You didn’t mean to do it, I’m not reading anything into it, it’s fine.”

“But Kurt, I…”

“It’s fine, Blaine!” he interrupted sharply. “Let’s just forget this ever happened, okay?”

Blaine’s eyes were wide, but then he nodded. “Okay… if that’s what you want.”

“It is.” Kurt replied. “Now, to more serious business… have you seen the new Vogue cover?”

* * *

 

In a way, this was worse than Rachel’s party. Back then he had known it was just Blaine being drunk. Now it was Blaine, sober and completely aware, holding him, dancing with him, just minutes after admitting his love for Rachel. Kurt couldn’t even enjoy it for more than a few second before reality caught up with him. Blaine, however, as always didn’t seem to notice a thing.

“So, this is what you imagined?” he asked. His voice was slightly higher than normal. Of course, as accepting as he was, it still had to be weird for a straight guy to dance with another boy.

“It’s close enough.” Kurt replied, trying to keep his voice neutral.

“I’m glad.” Blaine said into his ear. “You deserve a great prom.”

“You might be the only one thinking that.” Kurt said.

“They’re idiots. Don’t let them bring you down. You’re better than all of them.” Blaine’s grip around Kurt tightened as if he was trying to reassure him. “You are.” he insisted.

Kurt sighed. He _was_ grateful. It wasn’t Blaine’s fault that he loved Rachel instead of him. He was still one of Kurt’s closest friends. “Thank you.” he said. “For everything.”

“I was scared, you know.” Blaine said. “But this… it’s different with you. You… you make me want to be brave.” He laughed as if he was nervous. “Does that make sense?”

“I don’t know…” Kurt said. Actually, it didn’t make sense at all, and it wasn’t fair that Blaine said things like this, made him feel like this actually was the romantic dance Kurt had dreamed of, and not just pity coming from a friend.

And then, Blaine just had to look straight into his eyes as if he was the most interesting thing in the entire world. “Kurt, I…”

“Yes, Blaine?” he asked, hating his voice for sounding breathless.

“I really…”

Whatever he was trying to say was drowned out by applause. Kurt looked around. He hadn’t even noticed that Rachel’s song had ended and Figgins had entered the stage, two envelopes in his hand.

“If Quinn wins, Rachel is going to be a mess.” Kurt muttered.

“And if she loses, Quinn will make Finn’s life hell. I’m pretty sure you lose either way.” Blaine said, letting his hand slip away from Kurt’s. Of course it was too good to last.

“And this year’s prom royalty are… Please roll the drum.” Figgins said and someone from the band started a drum roll. “Finn Hudson and Quinn Fabray.”

The hall erupted in cheers. Kurt shot a quick look at Rachel. Their eyes met. She looked upset, but kept it together. To his surprise he saw Jesse putting a hand onto her shoulder. He wasn’t sure what he had expected – maybe evil cackling or manic laughter – but Jesse actually had a fond expression on his face.

“Maybe she will be okay.” Kurt muttered.

Rachel smiled at him, then at Blaine and waved slightly. Then she bit her lips, pointed at Jesse with her head and smiled.

Kurt saw Blaine mouthing an “okay” to her, before turning to Kurt again. “You’re right. She might be fine.”

“And if not, she got us, right?”

Blaine stared at him. “You care a lot about her, too, don’t you?” he asked.

Kurt nodded. “She’s driving me insane most of the time, but… I do.”

For a second, they just stared at each other. The next second, Blaine was kissing him. It was softer than at the party, not nearly as sloppy, but maybe even more intense. It was everything Kurt could have dreamed of.

“You’re amazing.” Blaine whispered against his lips. “How are you even real?”

Right now Kurt couldn’t even think how this was possible. This wasn’t a game, or Blaine being drunk. This was real, and sober, and all he could do was move in for another kiss.

“Let’s get out of here?” Blaine said when they eventually parted. “We should probably talk…”

“Talk… right…” Kurt muttered. “Talk…” He shook his head a little, hoping that maybe this would lessen the haze of euphoria that surrounded him. Unfortunately it did the second he saw Rachel staring at them, her eyes impossibly wide and a hand clapped in front of her mouth.

Rachel, who was his best friend, who had just watched Finn and Quinn crowned prom queen together, who had to deal with Jesse now as well, who had shown him kindness when nobody had even noticed he was in pain, and she had just seen him kiss Blaine…

Blaine.

The boy who just minutes ago had confessed that he loved Rachel.

Suddenly, Kurt felt sick.

“Are you okay?” Blaine asked. “Kurt, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this.” Kurt said, tearing his eyes from Rachel and staring at Blaine. “Not again, not with you, I _can’t_!”

Blaine flinched as if he’d been struck. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I can’t do this to Rachel!” Kurt yelled. People close to them stared at them, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “And you can’t do this either, Blaine. You can’t just come here and dance with me and kiss me. I can’t do this to Rachel, and you have no right to do this to me.”

“Kurt, please, let’s talk about this somewhere quiet, okay?” Blaine said.

“There’s nothing to talk! I won’t be played with, Blaine.”

“Played… what are you even talking about?” Blaine asked in frustration.

“I thought you were my friend.” Kurt replied.

“I am! I just really don’t understand what the problem is.”

Kurt shook his head. “That’s exactly the problem. You don’t understand anything.” He sighed. “I can’t do this anymore, Blaine. Maybe we shouldn’t see each other again.”

Blaine paled. “You… you don’t mean that.” he said, his voice shaking. “That’s not really what you want.”

“Actually… it is.” Kurt said, trying to keep his voice steady. “Goodbye, Blaine. I’m leaving.”

He turned away and fought his way through the crowd, ignoring Blaine calling after him and the shocked looks Rachel gave him. He had to get out. And if possible, he’d never want to see Blaine again.

* * *

 

During the next few days, Kurt got a dozen calls and more than twenty text messages from Blaine. He considered blocking his number, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he deleted every single message and stared at his phone whenever another call came in. He never answered.

Sometimes he felt bad about it, but then he remembered how little consideration Blaine had shown for his feelings. And yes, he had always hoped for Blaine to move on from his love for Rachel, and maybe even dreamed of being the person Blaine moved onto… but even in his dreams he was smart enough to know that a change like that didn’t take place within a few minutes over a slow dance. Sure, he and Rachel had a lot in common, but they weren’t the same person. Blaine couldn’t just decide this quickly to be over Rachel and into Kurt. Or maybe it really was the fact that they were so similar, combined with the fact that Kurt was so obviously in love with Blaine that he could be considered “a sure thing”…

It didn’t help thinking about it, but Kurt couldn’t stop. So by the time Mercedes basically ordered him to a girls’ sleepover, he was nearly relieved.

He was less happy when he realized it would be a sleepover at Rachel’s house. He had tried to avoid Rachel as much as he could after prom. It wasn’t easy, not when they were preparing for Nationals, but at least she was so focused on winning that he didn’t have to worry that she would suddenly decide to talk to him about prom.

Now, nearly a week later, he had finally run out of luck. Mercedes took his hand the second they entered the Berry’s house and pulled him upstairs, through the corridor, past the house’s third bedroom that always stayed empty and locked, and into Rachel’s room.

“Enough running away, white boy.” she said sternly.

“Now we’re going to talk about your boy troubles.” Rachel added, pointing a finger at his chest.

“Can I at least sit?” Kurt asked, resignation in his voice.

“We’ll allow that.” Rachel said. “And now spill.”

Kurt sighed. “There’s nothing to talk about, Rachel. And shouldn’t we be talking about your renewed involvement with Jesse St. James?”

“We’re not involved, and even if we were, people can change!” Rachel protested.

“Not Jesse St. James. Also, not the point.” Mercedes said and turned to Kurt. “You and Blaine. Spill.”

“I told you, there’s nothing to talk about.”

“Didn’t look like nothing at prom.” Mercedes said. “You were making out, I saw you.”

Kurt sighed. “So what?” he asked. “We kissed. That’s all.” He really didn’t want to explain things, but they looked at him with so much expectation… “I’m sorry, Rachel.” Kurt said.

“Stop procrastinating!” Rachel snapped. “And why on earth do you think you need to apologize to me? Like I care who Blaine makes out with… as long as I don’t have to see it.”

“Why are you so cold to him?” Kurt asked, feeling his anger well up again. Yes, Blaine had treated him callously, but the way Rachel talked about him wasn’t much better. “Wow, you two really are alike…” he said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rachel asked.

“Never mind.” Kurt said. “Look, I appreciate your concern, but it really doesn’t matter. It’s not even you… it’s him.”

“What do you mean, it’s him?” Rachel asked confused. “I thought you liked him.”

So she had noticed… and still taken Blaine to prom. Way to spare other people’s feelings when they were nothing but careful around her…

“Don’t you, Kurt?” Rachel asked.

“I do.” Kurt admitted. “The problem isn’t that I don’t like him… it’s about him not liking me.”

“You know, usually the code for ‘not liking someone’ is not ‘shoving your tongue down their throats’…” Mercedes said.

“You could at least give it a try, Kurt.” Rachel said, squeezing one of his hands between her own. “I mean it. You’ve both been miserable this week… why don’t you just give him a chance?”

Before he could even think about answering, he heard the door behind him open. Rachel shrieked. “Oh my god, what are you doing here? I thought you were staying at Dalton!”

“Changed my plans.”

Kurt’s heart nearly stopped. This was Blaine, standing in Rachel’s room on a Saturday night. Kurt turned around and looked at him.

He was wearing his Dalton uniform again, but some of his hair had escaped the gel. He looked straight at Kurt, his hazel eyes burning with determination. Before Kurt could say anything, Blaine had taking his hand and pulled him to his feet.

“I’m going to borrow Kurt for a moment. Don’t wait up.” he said to Rachel and Mercedes before he left the room again, pulling Kurt after him.

Kurt’s heart beat increased as he followed Blaine. What was he doing here? How had he even gotten in? And why on earth was he pulling Kurt into the other bedroom… and for that matter, why was it open?

“I really didn’t want to discuss this in front of them.” Blaine explained as he pulled him inside and sat him down on the bed. “And you’re really hard to get hold of, so when I heard that Rachel had invited you over I just had to come back. I need to talk to you.”

“I can’t think of anything we need to discuss, Blaine.” Kurt replied. He did try to make his voice sound cold, but he knew it came out more shaky than anything.

“How about the fact that we kissed at prom? Doesn’t that need discussing?”

Kurt shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it. Can’t you just drop it?”

“No, Kurt, I can’t.” Blaine said. “Because you can’t tell me it didn’t mean something to you.”

“Of course it meant something to me! You’re the one who doesn’t care!”

Blaine stared at him in disbelief. “Do you really think that?” he asked after a moment. “Kurt, I…”

“Save it.” he whispered. “It’s okay, I get it. I know how much you care about Rachel, and-“

Blaine sighed in frustration. “Can we not bring Rachel into this?” he asked, sounding exasperated. “God, can’t you for once see me separate from her?”

“You’re making that pretty hard, Blaine.” Kurt said. He looked away, at anything but Blaine. Maybe he could ignore him and whatever he said if he concentrated on this guest room he’d never seen. It did look lived in, and in way better taste than that pink-walled horror Rachel called her room. There was a suitcase, some posters, trophies of fencing and polo, some of them even with a name on them…

And then Kurt realized just what he was reading.

“Blaine?” he asked. Only after he spoke he realized that he interrupted whatever the other boy had been saying.

“Yes, Kurt?” Blaine said, and Kurt could hear how much he tried to stay calm.

“Why do you have trophies standing in this room?” Kurt asked.

Now Blaine looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “What?”

“Those trophies. They’re for Blaine Anderson. What are they doing here?”

Blaine frowned at him. “Well, I can’t keep all of them at Dalton. Look, can we go back to talking about us now?”

But no, Kurt definitely couldn’t. “And that’s your suitcase, isn’t it?” he asked. “This… Blaine, is this your room?”

“Of course it is, what does this have to do with anything?”

“You have a room at this house…” Kurt said, looking around. It did look like Blaine… but why on earth would he have a room here?

“Look, I’m boarding, it doesn’t mean my dads kicked me out.”

“Dads?” Kurt repeated. This wasn’t making sense. None of it was.

“Our two dads? You must have met them at some point. I know Rachel keeps bragging about them.”

“Our…” Kurt stared at him. “Two dads. As in Rachel’s two dads?” he asked.

Blaine started to look actually worried now. “Yes, Kurt, as in Rachel’s two dads.” he said as if he was talking to a mad person.

“Rachel’s two dads are your two dads?” Kurt asked.

“Well… yeah… that’s what siblings means, Kurt.” Blaine said. “Are you feeling okay?”

But all Kurt could focus on was that one word.

Siblings.

“You’re siblings?”

He would never tell this story anyone, but if he did, he certainly would insist that he did not shriek those words.

“Twins, yeah,” Blaine said, still frowning at him. Then it seemed to dawn on him. “Wait… you didn’t know that?”

“How on earth should I have known that?” Kurt asked, nearly flailing. “She never said anything about you until Quinn saw you together before Sectionals! And you… she… Your name is Anderson!”

“Well, yeah,” Blaine said, “Rachel and I were adopted before they could get legally married, so Hiram Berry adopted Rachel and Leroy Anderson adopted me, and the name just kind of stuck even after they got married. Did she really never even mention me?”

Kurt shook his head. “Blaine, she wrote a song about the pain of being an only child. Something about being the only Berry on her family tree.”

“I don’t believe her… I mean, yes, she is the only Berry, but come on. Couldn’t she write about anything else? Like… I don’t know, her crimes against fashion?”

“Or her headband?”

Blaine chuckled. “Or that.” Then he frowned again. “So… if your problem isn’t that it’s weird to date your best friend’s brother… then what _is_ it?”

“I thought you were in love with her.” Kurt admitted. And god, did it sound stupid now.

“With Rachel?” Blaine asked. “You thought I was in love with Rachel?”

“What was I supposed to think?” Kurt replied, his defenses coming up. “You kept saying that you loved her!”

“As my sister!” Blaine protested. “You must have noticed something, Kurt. I’ve been flirting with you for months!”

Kurt blushed. “I thought you were just a really flirty person…”

Blaine, again, chuckled. “Yeah, okay, I heard that before… and maybe it was that at first. But…” he paused, then he sat down beside Kurt and took his hand. “Okay, can you just listen now, because I’ve been trying to tell you this since we met after Rachel’s party, and I really need to say it. Are you ready?”

Kurt could only nod, his eyes fixated on Blaine.

“Kurt? I really, really like you. And those kisses, at that party, and on prom night, and dancing with you… they meant everything to me.”

Kurt could hardly breathe. “You like me.” he repeated. “You’re not even straight, are you?”

At this, Blaine laughed. “Kurt, why did you think I was bullied in the first place?”

Maybe a relationship with Blaine was a horrible idea, judging from how stupid he felt with every new question he asked. But then, Blaine’s hand touched his cheek, and it was hard to be bothered by it.

“I like you. I’ve liked you for months now. And I really want to be with you, Kurt.” And there it was, Blaine’s adoring, honest face, in front of him like an open book. Before Kurt knew what was going on, he felt himself smile wider than ever, and then Blaine was moving in and god, why on earth did they ever stop doing that?

Later they could talk about what that meant, what to tell Rachel, or anyone, what they were, or where they were going…

But right now only this mattered, them tangled in each other, kissing and being together.

Because there were a million facts Kurt knew about Blaine Anderson, but right now, only three of them mattered. He was gorgeous, he kissed like a dream… and he was his.


End file.
